


Arcana of a Different Story

by Assassino



Category: Persona 3, Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Anxiety, Comfort, F/M, Gen, Makoto Week 2019, Persona 3 Spoilers, what if
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-18
Updated: 2019-09-18
Packaged: 2020-10-21 01:42:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20685419
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Assassino/pseuds/Assassino
Summary: The Phantom Thieves are preparing to secure the treasure route into the casino. But with their backs against the wall and no plan prepared, both the Thieves and Makoto have no idea what to do. In an unlikely encounter, Makoto Niijima receives inspiration from two women of a different story.A story written for Day 3 of Makoto Week!





	Arcana of a Different Story

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first real Persona story outside of the ones I've written for Tales so I do apologize for any mistakes or anything. I've been wanting to write something with these characters for a while and I hope I did them some justice. I really hope that you guys enjoy the story!
> 
> Happy Makoto Week!

The diner didn’t seem to be the change of pace that Makoto needed to shake her feelings about everything. Makoto Niijima didn’t usually study in the diner. Usually, she would default to doing work at the school library or at home. Yet whenever she sat herself down and began to make progress on her homework, thoughts of the Phantom Thieves would invade her mind. She would fidget with her pencil to the point where it would almost snap in half. Makoto would do her best to focus on the calculus problems on the page, but kept finding herself rereading the expression ten more times to even process the next step. She would feel as alert and guarded as she usually is in Mementos. Like in a constant state of fight or flight. 

Studying in the diner this time didn’t change any of this for Makoto. She still felt fidgety. She still couldn’t focus for the life of her. And she still felt like the next person to disturb her would be left with at least a bruise. But on the bright side, she could drink order some tea now. 

Her mind raced with thoughts about the Thieves, about Akechi, about her sister. Thanks to Futaba, they know about Akechi’s real intentions. But what could they do to evade him? How would they evade the police? Would they have to kill officers to break out of her sister’s palace? And what if Ren does get captured and killed? And what about Sae’s shadow? What if Akechi kills her shadow? What if he causes Sae to have a mental-

SNAP! The sound of her pencil breaking and the feeling of the splinters of its wooden remains brought Makoto back to reality. Chastising herself in her head, she scooted herself to her bag to reach for another pencil. The pencil immediately fell out of her hands and she realized that her hands had been shaking. Makoto clenched her fists and took a deep breath. This wasn’t like her. No matter what adversity she has faced, Makoto always found a way to keep herself in tact and focused on a solution. It was a level of determination that she was silently proud of. But she couldn’t channel any of that. It fumbled out of her grasp like her pencil. She needed to keep it together. She was not going to break down, no matter what.

Makoto stood up from her booth and crouched down to reach for the pencil. Upon the retreval of her pencil, she stood up and felt her head collide with something. Someone actually. The sudden pain on her forehead made her stagger backward after she stood up so suddenly and crashed into someone. She could hear the person she just slammed into yelp from the pain. 

“I’m so sorry! I wasn’t looking!” Makoto stammered and lifted her head to apologize to the person.

Her eyes were met by a girl that looked not too much older than Makoto. Her short, light brown hair matched her brown eyes. She wore a light blue short jacket, with the collar popped, and a pink top. Her hand was caressing her chin and the girl certainly seemed to be in pain but she was smiling. 

“It’s alright, don’t worry about it!”

Makoto saw someone else walk over to the girl’s side. She seemed older and taller than the other girl. Her long, dark red hair covered one of her eyes, which were also red to match. She wore a sleek, black jacket and white top with a fairly poofy collar. Her arms were crossed but she didn’t seem like she was angry or perturbed. 

“Yukari, are you okay?” The red haired woman asked the other girl.

“I’m okay, just a soft bump.”

While rubbing her forehead, Makoto didn’t seem to find anything strange about these two but something felt odd. Like there was an odd familiarity by just being in these two’s presence. Makoto tries to think back to if she remembers them from school or Sae’s work or maybe even from her childhood. Then she heard a familiar voice speak in her head. One that Makoto always heard speak whenever she entered the Metaverse. 

_ Isis. Artemisia.  _ Anat’s words rang in Makoto’s head. The voice startled her. Not because it was her Persona, but she rarely ever heard Anat say anything outside of the Metaverse. 

“What? Isis? Artemisia?” Makoto muttered to herself.

“How do know those names?” Makoto’s eyes darted up to meet the woman’s. Her eyes were laser focused and targeted on Makoto. She marched up to the young adult with an authority and attitude she found way too familiar. The woman halted in front of her, towering over Makoto like a sentry tower. “What do you know about us?”

“I don’t-I don’t know any-” Makoto noticed her hands shake again and crossed her arms to hide them. She suddenly felt so claustrophobic, paralyzed by the glare of this stranger. Her chest tightened. Makoto did her best to keep herself from completely shaking uncontrollably. She was not going to break down, no matter what. 

The other girl, Yukari, stepped in and seemed to hold back the woman. “Hey, it’s okay. We’re not gonna do anything. Is it okay if we talk for a bit? I can even pay for food!”

“No. I’ll pay. It’s the least I can do to apologize.” Makoto noticed that the other woman had retreated, almost looking embarrassed with her hand clutching her arm.

These two women were strangers but they didn’t seem to have any ulterior motives at the moment. Yukari seems like a nice person. And the older woman seemed sincere with her want to apologize. Makoto was also more than prepared to handle the situation if they did have ulterior motives, even in her more unstable state. “Yes, it’s fine. Please sit, I’ll move my school work.”

Makoto sat back down and started to store her homework into her bag. She heard Yukari and her friend sit down and start to whisper to each other.

“You heard it too, right?”

“Yes I did. But I have no clue what ‘Anat’ means.”

Makoto froze for a moment as her skin began to crawl. It was impossible for them to know about her Persona. The Phantom Thieves were the only people that could enter the Metaverse. But then again, they didn’t know about Akechi being able to enter. 

Rising to sit up straight, Makoto rested her hands on her skirt and kept them pressed down to prevent her from fidgeting. 

“My name is Mitsuru Kirijo. I want to apologize for my actions before. I didn’t mean to come off so direct or rude.”

Yukari turned to Mitsuru and gave her a reassuring smile, “Yukari Takeba. Pleasure to meet you! Sorry that we haven’t started off on the best terms. But we need to address the elephant in the room before we continue.” Yukari leaned in closer to Makoto, only making it halfway across the table. She whispered, “You have a Persona, right?”

Yukari’s words sent a shiver down Makoto’s spine. Who are these two women? How do they know about Personas? Are they with the SIU? Are the police onto the Phantom Thieves? Maybe Akechi lied about when her sister would move in and they’re trying to get a confession out of her before arresting her. Thoughts of paranoia formed into a hurricane inside Makoto’s head and she lost track of time. Yukari leaned back into her seat, probably taking Makoto’s silence as a confirmation.

Mitsuru was the first to speak up, “We understand that you may be paranoid, especially with the recent events taking place in Tokyo. But I can assure you that we are not working with the police or anyone else. We ask because-” Mitsuru scanned the surroundings for a moment before dropping her voice to a whisper, “Because we are also Persona users.”

_ This could not get more complicated.  _ Regardless of how strange and crazy this situation felt, this put Makoto at a bit more ease. She feared some kind of interrogation or an officer ready to come to arrest her. Makoto’s hands stopped digging into her legs and she found herself able to breathe again. Yet, how could she be so sure that these two were telling the truth? If they were lying, she needs to know how they found out about Personas and tell the others. Possibly even find out if they are working for someone. If they were telling the truth… there were a lot of questions that Makoto wanted answered. For now, she had to regain some control of the situation.

Makoto straightened her back and puffed out her chest, reinvigorated with new confidence. “I have no idea what either of you are talking about. And forgive me if I don’t entirely believe both of your stories. So I will be leaving now, as I don’t have anymore business here. But if either of you try anything, I have very powerful allies. Both in the force, and otherwise. As for myself, I dare either of you find out what I am capable of.”

Balling her hands into fists, Makoto waited for their response to her threat. She thought it was crazy that she had just threatened these two women, but Makoto couldn’t take any chances. Especially not now. Her blood was pumping and her mind raced with different scenarios where she had to make an escape. It was insane to even think about escape while sitting in the middle of diner. Her gaze turned to Mitsuru, who seemed taken aback by Makoto’s declaration. But her surprise didn’t seem to come out of caution or fear. She almost seemed… impressed? 

Yukari didn’t seem as expressive and even unfazed, “I get that you don’t believe us. And I get that you’re a bit on edge. But just hear us out, please. We’ll tell you... “ Yukari turned to Mitsuru again and the red haired woman nodded in response. “Everything. About us. And if you still don’t believe us, then you can leave and you’ll never see us again. That’s all we ask.”

Once again, Yukari seemed genuine in her want to have Makoto believe their story. She still believed that they were lying but she had nothing to lose and nothing else planned for the day. Escape was still on her mind but she was willing to listen to what they had to say.. 

“Fine, I will humor you. Tell me your stories… And my name is Makoto Niijima.”

And so they did. The two started with their lives before awakening to their Personas, with Mitsuru being the heiress to an international trading company and Yukari being the daughter of a scientist studying shadows for Mitsuru’s grandfather. Then the story got weird and strangely more familiar to Makoto. She couldn’t help but see the similarities between SEES and the Phantom Thieves, people joined together by their want to better the world and put their new powers to good use. Makoto also noticed the similarities to their silent leader, Minato Arisato, to Ren. Quiet, reliable, willing to help others no matter what, and able to hold different Personas. The rest of the story came in rapid fire bullets of oddity. A rival group of Persona users. Full moons where massive shadows appeared. Coffins and the Dark Hour. A robot designed to kill shadows. A 12 year old boy and a dog with Personas? 

As the story continued and the two started to get into Nyx, Mitsuru stopped talking and looked away. Makoto didn’t need to read any expression on her face to know something bothered her about this part. The young heiress seemed very adept at hiding her true feelings. Yukari seemed to notice and continued the story from where she left off. The death of Strega. Nyx, the battle for everyone’s souls. Minato taking on Death by himself. A short peace. And then, Minato falling asleep and dying. Mitsuru cringed at the last part and closed her eyes, doing her best to not break her expression. 

Makoto could tell that she use to be close to Minato. Maybe similar to how she is with Ren.

Yukari went on talking about something regarding a desert and another robot, but Makoto’s head was already spinning from everything they’ve told her already. The rest of Yukari’s story dissolved into white noise and her paranoid enveloped her once again. What were they to face if these two faced death itself? What will happen to them? What if Ren will be the same like Minato?

Makoto could faintly hear Yukari say something, but her thoughts entrapped her and nothing else came in. She felt her body tense up and hands dig deeper into the leather of the booth seat, a futile attempt to stop them from shaking. Her breathing became more and more labored, like her lungs were being constricted. Makoto did her best to keep herself still but every part of her wanted to spring up from the booth and run away. She kept telling herself that she wasn’t going to break down. She couldn’t. The team needed her. Ren needed her. Sae needed her. But she couldn’t do it anymore. 

Her eyes began to water and her body began to shake. Every thought of fear and worry flooded in, breaking the dams that she had formed to keep herself in one piece. She heard rustling of some kind, then reality faded back in for Makoto to discover Yukari and Mitsuru next to her on both sides. She was startled a bit by their presence at first but Makoto was able to ground herself in reality by focusing on Mitsuru’s hand on her arm and Yukari holding her other hand. Usually she wouldn’t have allowed any of this to happen, Makoto didn’t mind the human contact at the moment. She began to hone on Yukari’s voice, making it audible to herself. 

Makoto started taking longer and deeper breaths. It took a while but her body started to cooperate with her again. The hurricane passed for now. “I’m okay. Thank you.” Makoto thanked them for helping but her head hung low, focused on her notebook that she had forgotten to put away. 

“Makoto, it’s not easy having these powers and the responsibility that comes with it. Sometimes it’s too much. I almost gave up at times. But my friends helped me through it. We supported each other and we made it through. I’m sure you have friends that would support you if you talked to them about how you’re feeling.” Yukari squeezed her hand and gave her a warm smile. 

“T-that’s correct. I can understand very well how it feels to bear many responsibilities on your own. I would have made some terrible mistakes if it wasn’t for the people in my life.” Mitsuru pulled her hand away and retreated them to her lap.

Makoto took another deep breath, “Thank you. Both of you. I’ve been so hostile to you two but I’m sorry and you’re right. There are things I’m dealing with that have me stressed out more than I’ve ever been. I’m paranoid and scared and I don’t know what to do. But besides that, I believe your story.”

She returned Yukari’s smile. Makoto wasn’t completely cleansed of her worries, but having these two with her made her feel much better. She had known Yukari and Mitsuru for over an hour but Makoto felt connected to them already. It was a feeling she couldn’t describe. The best comparison she could pull was how she felt when she was in the Metaverse with the other Phantom Thieves. A feeling of comradery that came naturally.

“Makoto, I know we just met but we’re gonna help you however we can with this. We haven’t been out of the game that long. And I’ve been dying for some coffee!” Yukari seemed ecstatic for a drink, releasing Makoto’s hand and slamming onto the table.

After ordering a cup of coffee for herself, Makoto decided to open to them about everything. She believed their tale and it was time to tell hers. The Phantom Thieves. The Metaverse. She still left out the identities of her friends just in case, going only with codenames. Makoto did tell them about Akechi but stressed it would be best to refer to him by codename too. But the whole story was out there. And after getting to her recent predicament with Akechi and her sister, she presented Yukari and Mitsuru with the root of her problem. “Akechi has us in a corner. And I know we can’t trust him. He plans to capture and kill Joker, framing us for the murders. But I don’t know what to do. Every plan I come up with has flaws or holes that Akechi could easily exploit. And I haven’t been able to think clearly to brainstorm more plans.”

Yukari drank from her cup of coffee while Mitsuru pondered, her eyes squinted and a quizzical expression on her face. “I think it would be best to play into his trap.”

“What?!”

“Do the one thing he doesn’t expect you to do. Play into his trap and foil his plans when he least expects it. The best way to secure an escape from all of this would be to feign ignorance to his true intentions.”

That was one of the missing pieces. Makoto could start formulating a plan from that. Akechi already believes that the Phantom Thieves know nothing about him and whoever he was talking to on the phone. This is the best advantage they have. The escape route began materialized in Makoto’s head. 

But the holes began to form in this plan as well. “But Crow will not let us escape so easily. We need to avert his attention away from us, which will be difficult. A fake treasure might do the trick but I don’t think it’s enough. Something more valuable needs to be used as bait.” Another piece of the puzzle regardless.

Yukari’s eyes lit up, possibly from the caffeine, and she jolted up with a response, “Joker! He’s the perfect distraction! Crow wants him most of all, so I say let them chase him while you guys escape with the fake treasure and escape the cops.”

The thought of Ren willing throwing himself into the hands of the enemy shook Makoto’s core. Her words came out faster than she could suppress them. “No! We will not use Joker as a distraction. He’ll be killed the moment Crow has him alone.”

Mitsuru interjected this time after sipping some of her coffee, “Matters would also get complicated once Joker is in the custody of the police. Escape would not be possible discreetly. Something dramatic would need to happen to ensure that he’s out of the hands of the police. But that doesn’t even take into account a manhunt…” Mitsuru continued to talk to herself about possible scenarios. 

Ren being a decoy seems to be the best case scenario for the Phantom Thieves. But Makoto still viciously rejected the possibility. Her memory recalled the details of Yukari’s story regarding Minato. His ultimate sacrifice. Makoto knew that Ren was the only one that could draw Akechi’s attention away from the Thieves. No one else was as valuable as him. Akechi’s whole plan is to capture Ren. But the implications of what could happen to Ren. He could end up just like Minato. He’d be a hero but…

“But isn’t there something you guys can do in the Metaverse? There was always weird stuff happening to us on full moons because of the shadows. Remember in July of that year when that shadow tricked us to-” Makoto was confused why she stopped talking and noticed that her cheeks filled with red. “Actually, let’s not talk about that.”

“Yes please, Yukari…”

Trick, trick, trick. The word lingered in Makoto’s head, and not because of what she wondered happened to them in July. Maybe they could trick Akechi somehow. But what could they do?

Then another piece emerged. Not just the treasure can be faked. But so can Ren with his cognitive version. Maybe even that room can be faked with its Metaverse counterpart. Everything in her sister’s palace was exactly the same, minus the casino itself of course. But how would Akechi be put into the Metaverse?

“I may have a solution to that. But it’s too risky. But I have no way of executing it. And not even a guarantee that it will work. And it would be asking too much of the others and putting them in much more danger than they already are.”

Yukari snapped out of whatever trance she was in, “Well, tell us what it is and we can help however we can.”

“I… I can’t. It’s far too dangerous. There has to be another way. This plane cannot have any holes or gaps of any kind. I can’t bear to have anyone hurt or worse and it would be my fault if anything goes wrong and-”

“Makoto.” Mitsuru turned her head to Makoto. She smiled at her but Mitsuru’s eyes were somber and tired. “I… I know what you are feeling right now. Perhaps more than you realize.”

Mitsuru’s words felt forced and pushed. Like she wanted to stay silent and let Yukari just talk for her. But she forced the words out anyways. Her hesitance and nervousness comforted Makoto in a way. It put her at ease, reassuring her that it was a good choice Makoto had confided in these two about her story and troubles. Mitsuru and Yukari really were the only people outside of the Phantom Thieves that understood all of this. “What do you mean?”

Mitsuru closed her eyes for a moment. Makoto noticed Yukari was frowning, wearing a worried expression on her face. “I ran SEES dispassionately. Almost like a task force. Of course, my teammates were my friends but... I never fully trusted them in the beginning. I did everything to make plans foolproof and cover every flaw possible. But it doesn’t always work that way. Situations change in a moment’s notice and plans are thrown asunder. The crucial piece I was missing to all of these plans was my teammate’s trust in me and my trust in them. After my father died, Yukari helped me be more open and trusting of my friends. But… Minato helped me differently. He helped me experience the world in a way I had never done with anyone.” Mitsuru paused and crossed her arms. “I loved him. And while our time together was short, I trusted him with my life. And in the end, I trusted that he and SEES would beat the impossible odds that were against us. My point with this is I think I understand the situation you’re in. While I don’t know for certain if Joker will meet the same fate as him, I do know that you need to put your faith in your team. So trust them, but also trust yourself.”

Makoto looked up at Mitsuru, feeling such a sense of familiarity from her. She knew why she was feeling that now. She saw her sister in the young woman. Mitsuru Kirijo’s confidence and posture were extremely similar to Sae’s, but the differences began past that. She was willing to show compassion and concern for others. And while Makoto’s sister wasn’t completely negligent of her, she still missed the sister that would comfort her on days like this where the world seemed to cave in on her. She missed the sister that would talk to her as an equal and not like some kind of leech. She missed the sister that talked to her. She just missed her sister.

But she smiled regardless. She was going to make this right. The Phantom Thieves were going to make this right. And Makoto trusted them with her life.

Then it struck her. The final pieces of the puzzle. Mitsuru and their story. Trust. Her sister. Futaba and the metaverse app. Akechi. Her mind is clear for the first time in weeks and she could see the whole picture now. Makoto had the whole plan in place. And it might just work. “Wait, I have it.”   
  


“Gob wat Makto?” Yukari currently had part of a muffin in her mouth. 

“The plan, I have it. Oh my god, thank you so much.”

“I’m happy to have helped.” Mitsuru gifted her a soft smile in response. 

“Thank you again, both of you. I know we’re not friends and you didn’t have to but I’m very grateful for your help.”

Makoto heard Yukari swallow the remainder of her muffin, “What’s saying we can’t be friends now? I can give you my friend ID and we can talk when you’re not dealing with shadows and stuff.”

“And if there is an emergency of any kind, I would be more than happy to help. Whether it’s in the real world or otherwise.” Mitsuru interjected.

“Thank you, but I can’t ask either of you to fight. This is our responsibility. But I appreciate the gesture and I would love to text you both some other time.”

The three exchanged phone information and proceeded to finish their coffees. Once the waitress came around again, Makoto was only a little shocked to see Mitsuru with a sleak, black credit card. It was one very similar to the one that Haru had when the two of them would go out. 

“One last thing Makoto. After all of this and if you’re still interested in putting your powers to good use, make sure to contact me. I’m always looking for recruits.”

“Thank you for the offer, Mitsuru. I’ll think about it.” 

“Please do. I know potential when I see it. Take care, Makoto.” Mitsuru gave her one last smile and nod before starting to walk away.

“Goodbye Makoto!” Yukari followed her out.

Something still irked Makoto, but not in a bad way. Yukari seemed so familiar to her. Like she had seen her from somewhere. Makoto pulled out her phone and searched up Yukari’s name, immediately met with the wikipedia page for Phoenix Ranger Featherman R. 

_ So that’s where she’s from! I have to mention this to Futaba at some point. _

\-----------------------------------------------------------------

“I didn’t expect you to tell her everything. Well, almost everything.”

Mitsuru smiled, “We both hear our Personas sense hers. And even before she opened up about her story, I knew she had great potential. She actually reminded me a lot of myself from when you first met me.”

“So stubborn and terrible at small talk?”

The two women laughed, “Absolutely.” Mitsuru’s smile faded and she stared at the pavement in front of her.

Yukari was silent for a moment, “You still miss him, don’t you?”

“Everyday I do Yukari.”

**Author's Note:**

> I'm glad that you read my story! I hope you enjoyed it and let me know about any criticisms you have, or just let me know if you enjoyed the story. I want to thank @SpderGoblin on Twitter for helping me by providing feedback on early drafts of this story.


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